Doubting The Prophet
by Cody The Pikachu
Summary: After Hawkbit yells at Fiver in "The Vision", how does Bigwig react to it? And will Hawkbit apologize to Fiver or continue being a grouch? This is a remake of "Open Minds", which is now deleted.


**AvatarCat13: Hey there, everyone! It's been...I think quite a while...since I did one of these. Yep, I'm making a remake of one of my oldest stories. It's the one from Watership Down, and I'll tell you what it's gonna be about.**

**You remember the episode on the T.V. series of Watership Down when Hawkbit yells at Fiver and tells him he was a curse to the Down? And when Bigwig tells Hawkbit that he wants to have a serious talk with him? Well, this story is about that talk. It was over three years since I made that story, and I'm gonna try and tell it in the new way.**

**Now that this is done, let's go to the disclaimer.**

**Disclaimer: Watership Down doesn't belong to me, nor do the characters. It belongs to Richard Adams.**

**Publishing Date: October 18, 2013**

**Enjoy!**

**...**

_**Doubting The Prophet**_

The rabbits at Watership Down were digging in the burrows to make a good escape route in case the weasel came closer to the Down. Fiver was hard at work alongside with Hawkbit and Blackberry while other rabbits got ready to challenge the beast head-on. His vision of Redstone Warren being empty kept him from focusing a lot on the mission.

Fiver had gotten a vision that the Redstone Warren had been empty for a while, and Primrose had refused to believe it was abandoned. So she had decided to go check on it, and Hazel (who was Fiver's older brother and the chieftain) decided to come along with her. He hoped that Hazel and Primrose would make it back soon.

It was high in the afternoon as the rabbits at Watership Down began to get to work. As Hawkbit dug deeper, Fiver was helping Blackberry smooth out the edges on the outside of the hole. He could have sworn he heard the dark gray rabbit grumble as dirt showered onto his head.

"That's it. I need a break," he muttered as he climbed out of the hole.

As Hawkbit plopped down onto the floor, Bigwig had arrived and snapped, "Get back to work, you lazy layabout, or I'll leave you out for weasel-bait!"

"There's no need to use that kind of tone, Bigwig!" Blackberry protested at the large rabbit in a motherly tone. "Hawkbit has been working and digging hard!"

"I'm not asking for a debate," Bigwig retorted. "I'm in charge while Hazel is gone, and what I say goes. Now get at it," he added before leaving.

They looked back at the tunnel where he left and no one spoke for a few seconds. After the silence, Hawkbit climbed back into the tunnel and muttered, "The sooner Hazel and Primrose get back, the happier I'll be."

"What about the vision?" Fiver asked him.

But the dark gray rabbit climbed out of the tunnel and rounded on Fiver, snapping, "Oh, you and your bloody visions! If you never had them, we wouldn't be in this trouble!"

Blackberry, who defended Hawkbit seconds ago, now scolded him, "Hawkbit! It's not his fault!"

But Hawkbit just snapped, "You're a curse on this warren, that's what you are! If you went away, we'd be happier!"

Fiver didn't retort, for he usually doesn't pick fights with other rabbits unless it was necessary. But what Hawkbit told him stung...but he was right; because of these visions, he was bringing a curse onto Watership Down. He knew he had to go away so that no one else would be hurt from the visions he had been having.

He muttered a quick and quiet apology as he quickly abandoned the digging and away from the huge birch tree.

**...**

Bigwig was leaping around every stone at the Down. He had asked Hawkbit and Blackberry where Fiver went to, and they said they hadn't found him. Grumbling under his breath, he kept asking other rabbits like Dandelion, Holly, and Pipkin where he was. But just as before, they said they hadn't seen him.

A few hours later, he finally found him. Fiver was in a shelter of boulders clustered together, looking rather lonely and miserable.

Bigwig greeted him, "What's the game, Fiver? It's getting dark, and the enemy's on his way."

But the russet-brown rabbit didn't move. Instead he muttered, "But it's my fault it's coming."

"And how's that then? How is it your fault?" Bigwig demanded, not in the mood for games.

He stared up at the Captain of the Owsla and murmured, "Hawkbit was right, Bigwig."

Bigwig let out a little chuckle at that. He couldn't imagine Hawkbit being right about many things. "Well, that's a first. What's he right about?"

"He's right about my visions," Fiver replied, looking away from him. "What if I'm not seeing the future? What if my visions _make_ things happen?"

"Don't be silly, Fiver. Come on out of there," Bigwig replied.

Yet Fiver didn't come out. "What if I caused Sandleford's destruction? And Hazel nearly died because of me. And because of me, you were caught in the Shining Wire!"

Bigwig didn't believe a word Fiver said. For a rabbit of his nature, he gently reassured him, "None of that was your fault."

Far from being reassured, Fiver went on, "Hawkbit was right, Bigwig. I'm cursed! I have to stay away!" As Keehar's voice echoed through the sky, he added, "If I stay out here, my visions can't hurt anyone!"

_Oh, he said you were cursed, did he?_ Bigwig thought angrily. Now he was furious at Hawkbit for saying that sort of rubbish at him. Without that vision, all of them would be dead! _I'm going to have a nice chat with him when I get back!_ he snarled to himself angrily as Keehar arrived with the news.

"Bigvig! I see veasel!" the seagull called in his Bulgarian accent. "He close and he plenty mean, yah!" He took off once more to scan the area.

Bigwig watched Keehar flew off before nudging Fiver on the shoulder. "We don't have much time, left Fiver. Let's go."

"You go ahead," Fiver mumbled. "They'll need you."

Bigwig gave him a look of concern before calling Keehar down and told him to stay with Fiver while he would tell the others about the search. Several emotions were running through his mind now: anger, concern, and mainly frustration. If he had known that this was what it was like to be in charge briefly, then Hazel would have given him lessons. Now he had to deal with a rabbit who kept blaming himself and another rabbit who just made things worse.

When he got back at dark, Dandelion and Hawkbit were at the entrance, waiting for Bigwig to come back. It was Dandelion who asked, "Did you find Fiver?"

"Yes, I did," Bigwig replied. Then turning on Hawkbit, he growled, "And Hawkbit, you and I will have a _serious_ talk after this."

"What'd I do now?" Hawkbit asked him, looking startled.

Bigwig didn't listen. Instead, he told Dandelion, "Get below ground. I want to have a talk with your companion here."

But as Dandelion went into the tunnel, Bigwig decided to go to a secret and private place underground. So they went over to where the food storage was, right near where the does, their kits, and the older rabbits would sleep at. Since those rabbits would be at another area while the weasel would arrive, the tunnel there would be empty.

When the two male rabbits arrived, Bigwig faced Hawkbit and snapped, "Well? Got anything to say for yourself?"

"What? What'd I do?" Hawkbit retorted.

"Come on. I know you can't fool me with that tone," Bigwig growled with deadly yet calm fury in his voice. "Did you, or did you not, tell Fiver that he was a curse on Watership Down?"

Hawkbit let out a sigh as he answered him, "Yes, Bigwig. Well...what did you want me to tell him, for Frith's sake? That Fiver gets a piece of flay-rah whenever he gets a vision? I guess if he's wrong about everything, then we're doomed. And why did we have to leave Sandleford when he said we should? You think he just made all that up?"

But when Bigwig heard that, he cuffed the younger rabbit on the ear. Hawkbit glared at him, but Bigwig growled, "You little bludger! If no one paid attention to his vision, we'd all be dead right now at Sandleford! If he didn't have any visions at all, we wouldn't be here at all! Plus, you have no right to yell at Fiver or tell him that he was wrong! If Hazel believes in him, then I do, and so should the rest of you lot!"

"Okay, okay!" Hawkbit snapped, trying to avoid the claws. "I'm sorry, okay?!"

"'Sorry' doesn't get you free flayrah!" Bigwig snapped. "When this is over, you WILL go apologize to Fiver and then you can go on to a long day of digging! That's an order!"

"Yes, Bigwig," Hawkbit murmured as he hopped away, looking more subdued. Before he left, he turned back to Bigwig and added shamefully, "I'm REALLY sorry that I said that to Fiver. I was just angry, and things kinda slipped out. But I WILL apologize to him. I promise."

Bigwig felt a little compassion well up in his soul. He let out a sigh and laid a paw on the young buck's shoulder and said gently, "And I didn't mean to be harsh with you either. It's just, well, some rabbits blame the messenger when they don't like the message. I know that was hard for you to understand, but buck up, lad. We'll come around this soon."

"I suppose so," Hawkbit replied, feeling a little more cheerful.

Before anyone else said anything, however, Dandelion's voice called out, "The weasel broke in!"

"Let's go! And I'll let you have the first strike!" Bigwig told Hawkbit.

At this, he let out his famous battle cry as he and Hawkbit hopped away to drive the intruder out.

**...**

The morning after the weasel attacked and was driven away, Hawkbit sat outside the burrows, waiting for Hazel and Primrose to return. He remembered what he told Fiver, and he truly regretted it now. A very hard day at work was bound to restrict the common sense of a rabbit like him, and that could lead to a lot of tension.

He also remembered what Bigwig told him about the whole ordeal. With that weasel around, his harsh words just created more tensions around Watership Down.

"Still nervous, eh?"

Bigwig's voice startled Hawkbit out of his thoughts as the captain hopped up beside him.

"Good morning, Bigwig," he muttered. "Look, I didn't mean it when I said he was bringing bad luck to everyone in the Down. I was just mad at you."

Bigwig nodded. "Go on."

"I was mad because I was tired of hearing you yell at us all the time," Hawkbit said, looking down at his feet. "But now I know why you do it: it's because you care about us and the safety of Watership Down, right?"

"It's true, even though I'm as grumpy as a badger with its ears kicked," Bigwig replied, laughing. "I was just worried that everyone would get hurt by the weasel. And I'm really glad you told me the truth, Hawkbit."

Hawkbit gave him a small nod. "That's true."

Bigwig nodded back. "Since you told me the truth, I'll reduce your punishment from an entire day of digging to half a day of digging," Bigwig said. Then he added sternly, "But the next time you get mad about me giving orders, I expect you to just follow them and then talk to me about it. No more losing your temper and insulting others in the process. Is that clear?"

"Yes," Hawkbit said. But he turned around to mutter under his breath, "But I think that talking with you about your style of running things wouldn't accomplish anything."

"_What_ was that?" Bigwig asked with a slight threat in his voice.

Nothing," Hawkbit replied, smiling at him innocently.

Bigwig looked at him skeptically, but at this moment, both of them saw two rabbits leaping to them: one dark ginger and one cream.

"Hazel and Primrose are back!" Bigwig said. He bounded up to his leader and asked stoically, "How was your trip? And who's this?" he added, pointing to an old brown rabbit behind them.

"This is Captain Broom," Hazel explained, pointing a paw towards the old rabbit. "He'll be staying with us from now on."

"And was there any trouble?" Primrose added.

Hawkbit spoke up, "There was a mishap with a weasel, that's all. But we sorted him out." But then his voice stumbled a bit as he told Hazel, "Fiver's been in a bad state...and it's my fault."

He expected Hazel to yell at him, but he didn't. Hawkbit knew that his chief doesn't like to solve problems by yelling, but instead he would try to find a reasonable way of solving a problem.

Hazel merely gave Hawkbit a nod. "Bigwig and Hawkbit, show me where Fiver's hiding at," he commanded in a calm voice. "And Hawkbit, tell me exactly what happened, please."

**...**

They led the way to the crop of stones at the edge of the warren, the other rabbits behind them. They had now reached the place where Fiver was at, but he didn't appear. Hazel had been a bit afraid that he ran away, but he refused to panic and remained calm.

But a miserable voice rang out, "I've told you already; I can't live at Watership Down anymore! _Please_ go away!"

When Hawkbit heard what Fiver said, he felt very ashamed of himself. He muttered to himself, "Why did you have to do that, you pile of badger dung?"

Hazel told him gently, "Hawkbit told me what happened. Fiver, listen to me. You're seeing the future, not making them happen."

"You don't know that," Fiver sadly replied. "Hawkbit was right."

"Like Bigwig said, some rabbits blame the messenger when they don't like the message, that's all he meant," Hazel said, giving Hawkbit a warning glance, making him feel even more ashamed. When Fiver didn't speak but gave Hawkbit a sad glance, the chieftain went on, "Hawkbit, do you have something to tell him?"

"Yes, Hazel," Hawkbit muttered, padding forward to Fiver. "Fiver, I'm sorry I yelled at you. It's just that I was mad at Bigwig for making us work too hard. You're not a curse to the warren; you're a blessing. If you didn't have your visions, we'd all be dead by now!"

Fiver just gave a little nod, and Hazel stepped in to crouch down to his brother. "Didn't you say that you saw a vision of Redstone Warren yesterday morning?"

Fiver nodded. "And you saw that it was abandoned, right?"

"Yes, and you were right," Hazel replied gently. "And they left Redstone_ seasons_ ago. You didn't _make_ them go away; you didn't make _anything_ happen."

"Really? They went away seasons ago?" Fiver asked while coming out of the rocks.

The chief gave his brother an affectionate smile and nodded. "Of course. And Primrose and I brought someone here to explain it all."

"So I'm seeing the future in my visions and not making things happen!" Fiver cheered happily.

Bigwig rolled his eyes and muttered, "That's what I've been trying to tell you last night!"

Everyone nodded at that, including Hawkbit, who was happy that Fiver felt better. If Fiver didn't, he would still be mad at both him and Bigwig and didn't want to go through that again.

Hazel then rose to his hind legs and said, "How about we hear about that story about that weasel, and Primrose and I can tell you about our trip. Plus, we both have news," he added before anyone could move away. He and Primrose gave each other a small smile as he announced, "Primrose is expecting our kits."

"I could've told you _that_," Fiver joked.

Hawkbit didn't laugh much at that, for he didn't find it too funny. But that didn't matter: the news about Hazel going to be a father was much more exciting. He helped everyone cheer for Hazel as they went on back to Watership Down, thinking over what was to come. Despite the feelings of cynicism and sarcasm up ahead, he would try his best to work for the down

_As long as Bigwig doesn't work us to the bone, that is._

_**The End**_

**...**

**AvatarCat13: Well, there we go, folks! That's the best I can do for making the remake, and I hope you like it. What's more is that I'll be taking the old one down, but I won't forget the advice of Myrkin, who helped me out with some stuff. And I plan on doing the same thing for my Felidae story called Bluebeard's Story; I think a one-shot might do.**

**So about The Legend Of Korra...Korra has lost her memory (poor girl), and she's now meeting Avatar Wan. He's the VERY FIRST Avatar ever, and we get to see how he got to start the entire Avatar Cycle. Plus, I wonder how the others back at Republic City and the Southern Air Temple are. Pretty soon, Jinora will be joining Korra in going into the Spirit World and meeting Wan Shi Tong!**

**Okay, besides that, read and review, folks! Those who do will get virtual plush dolls of any character from Watership Down. Plus, I got some punching dolls of characters you don't like; they're plush dolls you can beat up. I do NOT allow flames on this story or any other of my stories, but I DO welcome advice, questions of any kind, and constructive criticism as long as it's not harsh.**

**See ya next time! And Happy early Halloween!**


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